Now that you have had a chance to experience science education as it actually occurs, it might be useful for you to reflect on the role that you want inquiry to play in your own classroom. Before you do this, please look back on the resources and results from questions 3 and 4 from our inquiry jigsaw activity from last semester. After this review answer the following questions:
After considering the expectations for classroom inquiry presented in state and national standards what you think you will try to do in your own classroom?
After considering the expectations for classroom inquiry presented in the state and national standards, I would like to implement inquiry with each unit taught in my classroom. Using inquiry can make the students more interested or curious about the topic at hand, and perhaps give them more motivation. The classrooms I've been teaching (7th and 9th grade) seem to be very unsure of themselves, so they need some guidance with practicing inquiry. Presently, my 9th grade class is involved with an ecological issues project: they research a topic using some guiding questions provided to them. Most of the questions are open-ended and require the students to "problem solve" on a global and an individual level. It requires them to make connections to the ecology content learned in class with the world in which they live. It makes their learning meaningful and relevant, while making them feel as though they can make a worthy contribution to their community.
What resources and other forms of support do you think would be useful in order to be able to support classroom inquiry during your early years of teaching?
Team teachers seem to be the most useful form of support. Those that have been teaching know what works well and what doesn't. I've found that in both student teaching placements, that most teachers are all willing to share ideas and activities. Technology (eg. virtual labs) and professional memberships (eg. NSTA) are very useful forms of support.
After considering the expectations for classroom inquiry presented in state and national standards what you think you will try to do in your own classroom?
After considering the expectations for classroom inquiry presented in the state and national standards, I would like to implement inquiry with each unit taught in my classroom. Using inquiry can make the students more interested or curious about the topic at hand, and perhaps give them more motivation. The classrooms I've been teaching (7th and 9th grade) seem to be very unsure of themselves, so they need some guidance with practicing inquiry. Presently, my 9th grade class is involved with an ecological issues project: they research a topic using some guiding questions provided to them. Most of the questions are open-ended and require the students to "problem solve" on a global and an individual level. It requires them to make connections to the ecology content learned in class with the world in which they live. It makes their learning meaningful and relevant, while making them feel as though they can make a worthy contribution to their community.
What resources and other forms of support do you think would be useful in order to be able to support classroom inquiry during your early years of teaching?
Team teachers seem to be the most useful form of support. Those that have been teaching know what works well and what doesn't. I've found that in both student teaching placements, that most teachers are all willing to share ideas and activities. Technology (eg. virtual labs) and professional memberships (eg. NSTA) are very useful forms of support.